Physics of the Holy Qur’an

Over recent years, scientists, astronomers, oceanographers and the like have been able to discover important phenomenon with the advance of science and technology. Over recent years, scientists, astronomers, oceanographers and the like have been able to discover important phenomenon with the advance of science and technology. Yet the Holy Qur’an, revealed over fourteen hundred years ago, remarkably uncovered these now scientifically-established facts at a time when telescopes and similar technological advancements were not even heard of. Amazingly, the overwhelming agreement of its verses with science and modern-day scientific discoveries continues to be proven to this day.

Below are but a few examples that allow us to conceive Allah’s infinite power and knowledge clearly manifest in His miraculous book, the Holy Qur’an.

The Barriers Between Adjacent Seas

Recently, oceanographers have discovered that when two neighboring or different seas meet, there is a barrier between them such that they do not mix, with each sea having its own temperature, salinity, and density. For example, the Mediterranean Sea water is warm, saline, and less dense in comparison to the Atlantic Ocean water. Due to the difference in the density of the waters, the force of surface tension prevents the seas from intermixing, regardless of all the large waves, strong currents, and tides that they encounter.

As the human eye cannot differentiate between two adjacent seas, this scientific finding was only made possible with the use of advanced scientific equipment. Amazingly, the Quran told mankind of the barrier between two seas long before the invention of such equipment:

He has let loose the two seas, converging together, with a barrier between them they do not break through. (Qur’an, 55:19-20)

Formation of Rain

Meteorologists have recently determined the details of cloud function and rain formation with the aid of advanced equipment such as satellites, planes, and computers. They have found that cumulonimbus clouds go through three stages to produce rain: the clouds are pushed along by the wind, the small clouds then join together forming a larger cloud, and these in turn gradually stack up vertically due to updrafts in the center of the cloud pushing upwards. The vertical growth results in the cloud stretching into cooler regions, where water droplets and hail begin to formulate. When these water drops and hail become too heavy for the cloud to carry, they fall to the ground as rain/hail.

We learn this process of rain formation from science today, yet Allah the Almighty enlightened us over 14 hundred years ago:

Have you not seen how Allah drives along the clouds, then joins them together, then makes them into a stack, and then you see the rain come out of it? (Qur’an, 24:43)

Hail and Lightning

Allah has further said in the Holy Qur’an:

And He sends down from the sky mountain masses [of clouds] with cold hail in them, striking with it anyone He wills and averting it from anyone He wills. The brightness of His lightning almost blinds the sight. (Qur’an, 24:43)

Meteorologists have found the cumulonimbus clouds that shower hail, which stack vertically as previously mentioned, generally reach a height of 25,000 to 30,000 feet (and beyond) like “mountains”, as the verse indicates. The verse also confirms modern science’s general claim that hail storms are associated with the generation of lightning – yet another relatively new discovery by mankind.

Darkness of Deep Seas and Internal Waves

Allah tells us:

Or [the unbelievers’ state] is like the darkness of a fathomless sea, which is covered by waves above which are waves above which are clouds, layers of darkness, one upon the other. If he puts out his hand, he can scarcely see it. (Qur’an, 24:40)

Today we know that some hundreds of meters in a deep sea there is indeed darkness, such that below1000 meters, there is no light at all. As humans cannot descend to the deep, dark depths of the seas without the aid of submarines or other special equipment, the discovery of the darkness of deep seas was only found when the necessary equipment became available in recent years.

By stating that the deep waters of seas and oceans are “covered by waves upon which are waves upon which are clouds”, Allah also tells us of the existence of internal waves that are not actually visible on the surface. It is clear the second set of waves mentioned are the surface waves we do see, because as mentioned in the verse, above these waves are clouds. Indeed, scientists find today there are internal waves occurring on density interfaces, between layers of different density waters (deeper water has greater density than waters above it). These internal waves could only be discerned by scientists with the aid of advanced, powerful equipment that can detect temperature and/or salinity changes at a given location in the sea – clearly not possible during the time the Qur’an was sent down!

The Sky as a Protected Roof

And we made the heaven/sky a well-protected roof, yet still they turn away from Our Signs. (Qur’an, 21:32)

Without us realizing it, the protective nature of the atmosphere allows us and all other living things to survive in safety. Amongst other things, our atmosphere protects life on Earth by warming the surface through heat retention (the greenhouse effect), reducing temperature extremes between day and night, and destroying the millions of meteors as they approach the Earth. If the atmosphere did not exist, these meteors would fall through and certainly make the Earth an inhabitable place.

We also now know of the ozone layer (discovered only in 1913), which is a layer of gas of the Earth’s atmosphere surrounding it some 15 to 35 km above its surface. This 20 km wide layer acts as a natural filter, allowing only harmless and useful rays of light to pass through while absorbing 93-99 percent of the sun’s harmful high-frequency ultraviolet rays which, if passed through to the Earth, would be extremely damaging to life. However, near-ultraviolet rays are particularly important for the photosynthesis of plants and thus, remarkably, are partially let in by the atmosphere to allow for their survival.

The amazing attributes of this protective and protected atmosphere that Allah has created for us has been established through scientific research centuries after the revelation of the Qur’an.

The Expansion of the Universe

Allah describes the expansion of the universe in the following verse:

And it is We who have constructed the heaven with might, and verily, it is We who are steadily expanding it. (Qur’an, 51:47)

The word “heaven” is used in various other places in the Qur’an, referring to outer space and the wider universe. Today, modern science has confirmed that the universe is indeed constantly expanding; however, it is a discovery established only in the 20th century. Until then, even the greatest of minds such as Albert Einstein claimed the universe either a) had its confines, or b) was in an infinite space. The third alternative (the actual truth) of a dynamically expanding universe, realised by scientists after much research and deliberation and only after the invention of the telescope, was incredibly revealed to us by Allah over fourteen centuries ago!

The Holy Qur’an is filled with numerous such scientific statements articulated in a very succinct yet profound manner, which, due to the extremely low level of scientific and technological knowledge, could never have been known to man during the time of its revelation. As science continues to progress, the verses of the Qur’an continue to reveal the miracles of this divine book. Indeed it is the truth, the word of the Almighty Lord, who is the Originator of everything, and the One who encompasses all with His infinite knowledge.